BROADCASTER Sir Michael Parkinson has called for restrictions to be lifted on a life-extending prostate cancer drug.

Sir Michael, 78, who overcame the disease last year, branded as “illogical” the decision by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to restrict access to enzalutamide.

His call comes as scientists today hail the drug as a “milestone” in the treatment of the condition, which kills 11,000 in Britain every year.

The tablets – which can increase the chances of survival by a third – are available to NHS patients in Scotland but not elsewhere because the cost of treatment is up to £25,000.

Sir Michael said: “We must use our voices to campaign for more research funding, better diagnosis, better treatments and better education about men’s rights.

“We have first to try to reverse the recent illogical decision by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to restrict access to a life-extending prostate cancer drug – enzalutamide. We must ensure it’s made available throughout the UK.

“I know I’m lucky to be here. But I want luck to be left out of the equation.”

The former chat show host was diagnosed in May last year and began a course of radiotherapy.

He played down the impact of the diagnosis.

He said: “When you are told you have something like cancer, it is a shock. But the cancer specialist said, ‘I will assure you, Parky, you will not die of this’.

“I am concerned about it, of course, but I am not frightened.

“If anything, it’s boring. You have to lie there completely still, for six minutes. But I have had no side-effects at all.”

We must use our voices to campaign for more research funding, better diagnosis, better treatments and better education about men’s rights

Sir Michael Parkinson

Since being given the all-clear, he has campaigned for greater awareness about prostate cancer, the commonest cancer among men in Britain – 40,000 new cases are diagnosed every year, mostly among the over-50s.

Sir Michael’s campaign comes as research shows how effective enzalutamide is. The hormone therapy works by preventing testosterone from reaching the cancer cells, which leaves them unable to grow.

It has been shown to improve survival by almost 30 per cent in men who have not yet undergone chemotherapy.

It also delayed the progression of advanced cancers that have ceased to respond to other treatments by 80 per cent.

The results were given to the American Society of Clinical Oncology at a meeting in San Francisco last week.

In a clinical trial of 1,700 patients in the US, Canada, Europe, Australia, Russia, Israel and Asia, those taking enzalutamide were found to live four months longer.

The study was also found to extend the time before men needed chemotherapy by more than a year, ensuring they enjoy a better quality of life for longer.

Dr Heather Payne, of University College Hospital, London, said: “The results are very exciting and represent a significant milestone for the future treatment of men with advanced prostate cancer in the UK. Enzalutamide not only significantly improves survival in these men but can also potentially offer the opportunity to delay the need for chemotherapy by mofre than 17 months.”

Mikis Euripides, of Prostate Cancer UK, said: “Enzalutamide is already licensed for those who have had chemotherapy.

“But this trial will hopefully establish a robust base of evidence to demonstrate that it should be available beforehand.

“We need to see drugs like enzalutamide available sooner rather than later.”